Tone Poem: Mac
by chrysalis escapist
Summary: Mac's turn to dream, first one is after ep. "What schemes may come", second one after ep. "Past imperfect"
1. Echo Beach

**Disclaimer: all the characters still belong to Anthony E. Zuiker and the crew**

**In case you haven't read or don't remember from "Tone Poem: Stella":**

**A/N: "Tone Poem" is a song by Toyah, it's about dreams and I love to listen to it when I can't sleep because I'm upset, I find it very soothing. The titles of the chapters are also songs by Toyah.**

**A/N 2: I'd like to dedicate this one to ****my**** best friend, who cheers me up even when she's down herself.**

His eyes scan the scenery, a quiet beach bathed in afternoon sunlight. He focuses on the woman who is digging in the sand. When he moves closer he realizes she's not digging something up. The wind is playing with her hair, twisting her curls. She brushes them aside as she looks up at him. He looks at the sandcastle she's building. The waves are coming dangerously close; the wall facing the water begins to crumble. She sees the expression on his face change and follows his gaze, noticing the damage. "That's okay, I can build another one," she says before getting up.

She looks at the waves building up ever again. She walks into the water, breaking the waves with her shins. She bends down, reaches for something, the sea seems to be reflecting the green of her eyes. "Look!" she holds out a shell to him. She smiles in childlike innocence, knows no pain, no fear. She steps out of the water, comes towards him, and hands him the shell, "Isn't it pretty?" He nods, pushing aside the thought what finding a shell means for the former inhabitant.

She still smiles when she takes his arm and leads him along the waterline. They continue walking in silence for a while. She takes both his hands and swings him around. She sees his eyes sadden. "What…?" she murmurs, follows his gaze again. Her footprints are being washed away by the waves. "Oh… but I can make new ones," and she does a little dance before him, "see?" His smile is tinged with sadness as he wonders how much longer she will be able to do that.

She continues her little dance, starts spinning around and tumbles to the ground, laughing. She gets up again and brushes over her arms, her front and her legs. Grains of sand trickle off her; he sees them ticking her life away like an hourglass.

She rises up, her hair glowing in the sun, her eyes sparkling with joy. She seems translucent, he wants to touch her, make sure she's still there. He reaches out, puts his hand on her arm, his fingers feel like they're moving through sand. He wants to hold her; the atoms of her body run through his hands like grains of sand, bounce off each other and fall to the ground, becoming indistinguishable.

He sinks down on his knees, stares at the pile of sand before him. The wind is whispering in his ears. She's in the wind, her hand gently ruffling his hair. He closes his eyes, can feel her touch in the sea breeze. He let's the sound of the waves carry him away, waves hitting the shore, the heartbeat of the world.


	2. Angels and Demons

**Thanks again, Tigerkat51**

**And thanks greyslostwho, sorry this is already the last chapter, doesn't mean though there might not be more in that line, we will see…**

He's on that same roof again; he thinks he's never left it. He sees the man, hears the man, tries to get to him in time. He thinks he should be screaming but he can't hear anything, just those words, over and over again: I'll take you with me. He sees the man fall. He blinks, sees Stella where the man has been. She looks at him earnestly. He's still several feet away from the edge. She raises her arms into the air, spreads them out like wings. He tries to move towards her, feels like he's sinking into the tar of the roof.

"You said you'd be at my side. So that…" she moves her head to look at the other man who's lying on his back, somewhere down there, "… that's what's kept you away." He reaches out, still too far away when he sees her fall, falling in slow-motion, but still too fast for him to hold her. He stands motionless, doesn't bother to move anymore, what for? He doesn't know what he's waiting for or if he's waiting at all. He sees darkness rising up from where she has gone, reaching over the edge and stretching out, feeling its way towards him.

Somewhere he catches a glimpse of light. She's on the edge again, stars glowing around her let her arms appear like silvery wings. The darkness stirs, extends arms, holds his legs. Stars move, she steps into the black cloud, it curls, wriggles under her feet. "Very well, I said I'd take you down with me, doesn't matter if it's through her." Those words again, that voice again. He sees the cloud shoot up around her. Black wings envelop her, starry wings rip through the cloud, it flows back together. He sees them fall again, spreading across the sky, clouds covering stars, stars piercing through clouds, over and over again.

Stars at his side, "don't let him get you!" Clouds at his side, countless sheets of paper, one in his hands. Letters form words, words form cloudy, menacing sentences. _We find this man guilty of murdering a suspect. _He wants to read it again, can't find the beginning. Letters float around, new words appear, blacker and blacker. _Verdict… murder… in police custody… cold blood… HIV… negative._ He thinks those last words glimmered, he looks again. _Take you down with me _the letters spell out. _HIV… positive… _it says in letters so black, like black holes on the paper, swallowing all the light.

He sees her face again, remembers the fear in her eyes when she first told him, remembers his promise, and now she's the one at his side. Blackness crawls up again, billowing around him, around her. Black fingers stretch into his brain, she's losing the fight. He's surrounded by darkness; stars explode before his eyes because he can't breathe. A faint sparkle in his brain, the last impulses of his nerves as he tries to think, tries… to remember… something.

Sparks. Stars. Stella, Stella is still out there, fighting for him. He forces his eyes open against the heavy blackness, searches for the stars shining through. He sees them move through the clouds slowly, flickering weakly, sees them sink to the ground, burning out. He makes a wish, starts tearing at the clouds, reaches into the light.


End file.
